Inglourious Basterds, a comedy?

[SCMax101]

I saw Inglourious Basterds last weekend and absolutely loved it. That said, although I laughed a few times, I'm not sure I would have called it a comedy. I have heard it called a comedy and I was was wondering what other people thought, as this is the place for things that make people laugh.

Any thoughts?

[ASR]

Not a comedy. Comedic elements, sure... but definitely not a comedy.

Tarantino movies sort of transcend genre, anyway.

[Hostile]

Tarantino movies sort of transcend genre, anyway.

That's true, which is weird because he seems to design them based entirely on genre. "This one's a kung-fu revenge flick", "this one's a cheapo thriller", "this one's the war movie", etc. I guess there's just some Tarantino magic which inserts itself into everything he does and makes it work well, against all logic or explanation.

[Me!]

I thought it was a comedy.

[Cupid Stunt]

It would have been a more perfect film had Sandler played The Bear Jew (as was intended).

[grumm]

I think it can quite easily go into the broad genre of Black Comedy.

[CLOWN]

It would have been a more perfect film had Sandler played The Bear Jew (as was intended).

i agree, though i did really enjoy eli roth's performance

was it confirmed that this was the role that sandler would have played?

[ericluxury]

Eli Roth had maybe 6 lines in the movie and probably 4 accents. He did look fantastic in it though.

My only question about that movie is the scene with the movie theater. What was going on there. Having a director known for violent movies stage a scene where a nazi audience are laughing like idiots to a film that is basically nothing but violence. That scene, to me, spoke to a deep discomfort in what Quentin has become, as a director. Did anyone pick that up?

[Alex Mac]

I think that he's drawing a parallel between the Nazi audience and the audience watching the film, to be honest. They hoot and holler at the sniper killing American soldiers and there were some people in my theater who did the same for the Basterds violent killing Nazis. He's suggesting that part of his movie is a propaganda movie as well. However, he's also suggesting that you shouldn't see the characters as simply black and white, good and evil. He's want you to think of most of his characters as morally complex. There are brave Nazis, heroic Americans, and there are also stalwart British soldiers. There are sociopathic Nazis and equally sociopathic Americans. He's commenting on violence for violences sake, I think. Instead of using it to reflect (in this film, for example) how broken the characters are.

I think...

[Cupid Stunt]

was it confirmed that this was the role that sandler would have played?

Yes. Tarantino wrote it for him, but due to a combination of

1) scheduling conflicts with Funny People
2) Eli Roth sweet-talking (good friend) Tarantino into rehashing the part for him

it didn't happen.




Simon Pegg turned down the british secret agent role due to scheduling conflicts as well.

[ASR]

Yeah, and that whole Simon Pegg thing is killing me. Apparently Pegg made Tarantino promise that him a role in his next film... but that could be like, 6 years from now!

[Barrabus]

I think that he's drawing a parallel between the Nazi audience and the audience watching the film, to be honest. They hoot and holler at the sniper killing American soldiers and there were some people in my theater who did the same for the Basterds violent killing Nazis. He's suggesting that part of his movie is a propaganda movie as well. However, he's also suggesting that you shouldn't see the characters as simply black and white, good and evil. He's want you to think of most of his characters as morally complex. There are brave Nazis, heroic Americans, and there are also stalwart British soldiers. There are sociopathic Nazis and equally sociopathic Americans. He's commenting on violence for violences sake, I think. Instead of using it to reflect (in this film, for example) how broken the characters are.

I think...

Yeah, I thought the whole thing was about the power of film as art/propaganda/exploitation. Is it simply the use of cinematic technique that has us rooting for the Jews/Allies at all costs, or our historic knowledge of the suffering? By far the most interesting Tarantino for a while.

Intriguingly, all the Jewish characters in the film are completely one-note. Even the British officer is given more depth than Shosana - not that this works to the film's detriment; quite the opposite, in fact.